What type of selection is associated with Müllerian mimicry?

Müllerian mimicry occurs when two or more unpalatable or harmful species evolve to resemble each other, providing a mutual benefit by reinforcing the avoidance behavior of predators. In this context, positive frequency-dependent selection plays a crucial role.

When a predator encounters a familiar harmful species, it learns to avoid not only that species but also others that share similar warning signals or appearances. As the frequency of these mimicking individuals increases in the population, the likelihood of the predator encountering and learning to avoid them also rises. Essentially, the more common the resemblance between these species, the stronger the reinforcement of avoidance behavior becomes for the predator. This leads to a scenario where individuals with the shared mimicry pattern are favored by natural selection, which supports the concept of positive frequency-dependent selection.

In contrast, other selection types do not effectively explain the dynamics of Müllerian mimicry. Negative frequency-dependent selection, for instance, would favor rarer phenotypes, which is not aligned with the cooperative benefits seen in Müllerian mimicry. Stabilizing selection tends to reduce variation by favoring average phenotypes, and disruptive selection favors extreme variations over intermediate ones, neither of which captures the essence of how species benefit mutually through shared warning signals. Therefore, the association of Müllerian